Tensions flared into a riot in Nabire on Friday, January 4, after a truck travelling at high speed ploughed into a family group injuring several people and killing a young school boy, drove off from the scene, according to credible but unconfirmed reports from human rights sources in Nabire.

Peter Wakei, a Grade 5 elementary school student, was reportedly buried on Saturday after succumbing from serious head injuries from the collision at 10 am local time on Friday, according to family members spoken to by local human rights activists. Schoolboy Alfon Tegeke (12, below) was lightly injured from the crash and treated in hospital, with the dead boy’s older brother Anton Wakei (32), the District Head of West Mapia, remains in a critical condition in Nabire hospital.

Indonesian Police were accused by community members of failing to search for the truck driver, according to witnesses, who reported that community members then mounted their own search for the truck driver at the Coral Market on sundown.

A heavily armed unit of Indonesian police confronted the Papuan community members in the market, and opened fire without warning on the group at 1830 local time, hitting two civilians with live bullets. Apedus Wakei (31), was shot in the buttocks, while John Tekege (26) was shot in the thigh, and were taken to Nabire district hospital in a serious but stable condition, according to reports from Napas (National Papua Solidarity) sources in Nabire.

Police then arrested seven more community members and held them overnight without charge. The seven detainees were released the following morning after the Nabire Police Chief met with members of the victim’s families together with the new Dogiyai Regent in order to defuse the tense situation in Nabire. The inflamed situation has since returned to safe conditions after the intensive community negotiations, according to local human rights activists.

SUARAPAPUA, Jakarta - Human Rights Watch (HRW) consultant for Indonesia, Andreas Harsono, questioned the actions of the Indonesian security forces whose shootings led to the death of 22 members of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) during the year 2012; 55 people were arrested, and hundreds of others were injured.

‘Given that 22 KNPB members died from shootings, dozens were arrested and unknown hundreds were injured, there has been no transparent judicial process, and no internal mechanism to question police procedures in Papua, we have to raise the question of whether this repression of the KNPB is legal?’.

The statement was re-affirmed by Andreas, when interviewed by suarapapua.com on Thursday 3rd Jan 2013). According to Harsono , the police may justify their actions by incriminating KNPB members in violence, attacks on transmigrant settlers and security forces, but they still need to make their case transparent.

“The problem for police is working with transparency – can the police show this? At the same time, the KNPB needs to carry out an internal investigation in response to police accusations of involvement in violence’, he said.

Harsono also hopes that the organisation led by Victor Yeimo will quickly announce the outcome of the investigation, along with decisions to dismiss KNPB members found to be involved in acts of violence. As previously quoted, the KNPB head Victor Yeimo has stated that 22 KNPB members were killed in 2012 by Indonesian forces, 55 arrested and many among them are currently listed on the police wanted list.

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